The Calamity
by WaltonPrairieGirl
Summary: John has a heart attack after work at the mill becomes too much for him. Takes place somewhere about where season 3 took place. Spring of 1935.
1. Chapter 1

_Springtime in 1935 took its own sweet time coming to us. Much of March still felt like the dead of Winter. Then the 12_ _th_ _of April came and brought sunshine like we hadn't seen since the previous Fall. In an instant, we knew Spring was here! But none of us knew that "the sun" in our family would disappear soon. None of us would forget that Thursday in late April._

 **April 25, 1935**

"Mornin', John-Boy." Olivia said.

"Mornin' Mama. Has someone fed the chickens yet?"

"Jim Bob just got back from it." Olivia smiled.

"Tell him thank you. I've gotta get a start on the paper articles." He paused. "What day is it Mama?"

"Thursday."

"I'm sorry, I meant the date."

"April 25th."

"Oh crap, I have to publish that article on Ike and Corabeth's wedding! It's due tomorrow!" John-Boy exclaimed.

"John George Walton! I won't have you talkin' like that under my roof!" Olivia reprimanded.

"I'm sorry Mama. I'm just stressed. Everyone wants something from me and I can't do it all. I won't even BEGIN to talk about finals week coming up."

"Just three more weeks, John-Boy. I know that may not seem like much encouragement, but keep that in mind. It won't last forever." Olivia smiled.

John-Boy sighed. A slight smile spread across his face. "Thank you Mama. I feel better."

"I'm glad." She smiled. "You're about to turn 19 and I sometimes don't know if my words make a difference anymore."

"Well they do." He stood up and kissed his mother's cheek. "I love you so much Mama. Thank you."

"I love you."

John-Boy sighed. "I'd better get to work. I'm glad I don't have classes today."

"I'm glad you don't either. God knows how busy you'd be with a class on top of the paper."

"See ya later Mama." He replied.

"Bye."

Soon John-Boy's six younger siblings were off to school. John-Boy smiled as he watched them. Their personalities shown through even as they walked. Anyone could tell from miles away that Jim Bob and Ben were best friends. They could also tell that Mary Ellen and Erin got on each others' nerves. Jason was quiet but caring. He adored his little sister Elizabeth as much as she adored and looked up to him.

Earlier that Spring, John and Olivia had surprised their children with the exciting news that they would have another sibling. For now, everyone was anticipating the coming of Fall as the baby was due in September.

Dr. Vance had some concerns for Olivia. It had been nearly seven years since Elizabeth was born. Olivia had contracted and gotten over polio a year ago. She would be turning 36 years old in May. She was still in her twenties when Elizabeth was born. But John and Olivia were confident that this baby would be just as healthy as their other seven children.

That night after school, everyone did their chores and homework. John-Boy was writing in his room upstairs when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." he replied.

"Hey John-Boy."

"Well, hi there Jim Bob. How are you doing, little brother?"

"Good. How 'bout yourself?"

"Well, I'm kinda at a writers' block right now. What did you need?"

"I need help with my history."

"Well, I'm not the greatest at history, but I'll see what I can do to help."

"I don't know why Miss Hunter makes us learn all this junk. It's so boring."

"I used to think that too, Jim Bob. But you just have to find a way to get yourself interested. It's like solving a problem, how can I get this to work for me? You see what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I do." Jim Bob paused. He wrote something down. "Is that the correct answer?"

John-Boy looked at his brother's paper. "1860, the year Abraham Lincoln was elected. That's right Jim Bob."

Jim Bob smiled. "Thanks John-Boy."

"You're welcome, little brother!" John-Boy grinned.

Later that evening, John came in from the mill. He had had an especially frustrating day.

"Everyone wants something from me. When will they learn that I can't give them everything they want, Olivia?" he sighed.

Olivia rubbed her husband's shoulders. "Why don't you forget that all now. During the day, you may be John Walton, Walton Mountain's lumber man. But at night, you're just John, father of seven, soon to be eight, a beloved son and adored by his wife."

John smiled. "Thanks Liv."

Olivia called everyone to supper.

"What are we having, Mama?" Ben asked.

"Hamburgers." She replied.

"My favorite." Ben smiled, sitting down.

Soon, everyone else bounded down the stairs.

"John, can you put that paperwork down long enough to eat supper with your family?" Olivia asked.

John came over in a couple minutes. "I'm sorry everyone."

Jason sat next to John-Boy and exchanged a glance with his brother. They could both sense the frustration their father was going through with his work.

"Let's pray everyone." Zeb said.

With that, everyone held hands.

Zeb began his prayer. "Father, thank you for this meal. Thank you for the beautiful Spring day that you gave us and the reminders that life is in your plan. Thank you for loving us and caring for us. We give you all the honor and glory. Amen."

"Amen." Everyone said.

"Pass the mustard, Daddy." John-Boy said.

"Shouldn't there be a 'please' there John-Boy?"

"Sorry Daddy, could you please pass the mustard?"

"Ben has it."

"Just a second John-Boy and I'll pass it to you." Ben said, squirting mustard onto his hamburger. He then passed it to John-Boy.

"Can I get a slice of cheese, Daddy?" asked Erin.

"Here you go Erin. Say please next time, okay." John replied, somewhat exasperated.

"Thanks."

"Daddy, can I please have the ketchup." Jason asked.

"When will you children learn to say please?!" John shouted.

The room fell silent.

"He did John." Olivia replied softly.

John sighed. "Jason, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Jason whispered.

"Here's the ketchup." John passed the bottle down to his second oldest son. "Can you pass the lettuce?"

"Sure Daddy." Jason said very softly.

John-Boy patted Jason on the shoulder.

"Is everything okay Daddy?" Mary Ellen asked.

"Everything's fine Honey."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. I just had kind of a busy day today. I'm sorry for yelling."

"It's all right." She replied.

After supper, the kids sat around the radio and listened to their favorite programs.

Olivia glanced at John. He was grasping his chest.

"John, are you all right?"

Then he collapsed.

"John!" she ran to her husband's side. "John-Boy, Jason!"

The boys ran to their mother.

The girls stood around, all crying.

"Please God, let Daddy be all right." Elizabeth whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**April 25, 1935**

After John collapsed, it seemed like everything went into slow motion. Olivia felt completely helpless. She was nearly five months pregnant and couldn't do anything to help her husband. She had to rely on her sons.

At first John-Boy and Jason couldn't believe their eyes. But they then went into instinct mode. They rushed to their father's side.

"We've gotta get him in the truck, Jason." John-Boy said.

Jason nodded.

Zeb held the screen door open for his grandsons. Olivia followed the boys.

"I want to help." Mary Ellen said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Stay here, Honey." Grandma replied.

Zeb, Olivia, John-Boy and Jason all got in the truck. John-Boy drove. They drove to Charlottesville to get Dr. Vance.

After about an hour, they got to the hospital and Dr. Vance examined John.

"John's had a heart attack." Dr. Vance said.

"What?!" Olivia gasped.

John-Boy held his mother's hand.

"While heart attacks occur more commonly in older men, young men can also be victims of them."

"Is there anything we can do to prevent this in the future?" Jason quietly asked.

"Not really. You can try to reduce his stress as much as you can. But other than that, not much can be done."

Jason nodded.

"Mrs. Walton, I have to say that your husband will need surgery. I need your permission."

"John-Boy," Olivia whispered.

John-Boy squeezed his mother's hand. "You have to decide, Mama."

"There is more of a chance for risks without surgery than with. But there are risks with everything." Dr. Vance said solemnly.

Olivia sighed. She began to speak. "John and I celebrated twenty years of…" her voice trailed off as she started crying.

John-Boy hugged her.

"I'm sorry." Olivia said through sobs.

"It's okay to cry, Mama." Jason said gently, rubbing his mother's arm.

Olivia composed herself. "Please operate on him, Dr. Vance. Please."

Dr. Vance nodded. "Thank you Olivia."

"Thank you." She whispered.

Dr. Vance turned and headed back to the operating room.

Olivia began to sob. "I made the wrong choice!"

"No you didn't." John-Boy said in a soothing voice. "The surgery is better for him than not having it."

"But what if something happens?" Olivia asked.

"Mama, you can't think of that."

"I have to!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to have a baby in September! If something happens to your father, I'm going to turn to you for help."

"Mama, all of our lives you've told us to pray when something bad is going on in our lives. Now it's time you take your own advice." John-Boy said quietly.

Olivia sighed. "Thank you John-Boy."

Jason came over and hugged his mother. "I'm so sorry Mama."

"Jason, why are you sorry?"

"I exasperated him at the supper table." Jason replied. "It's all my fault."

Olivia saw tears in his eyes.

"Jason, Sweetheart, it's **not** you. Believe me, he had a hard day of work. It was something small. Sometimes when people are frustrated, the littlest thing will set them off. It **wasn't** you. Please don't blame yourself."

"But…" he whispered.

She looked straight into his blue eyes. "It's **not** your fault, Baby. Don't blame yourself."

Jason swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Olivia hugged him. "I am too. I'm sure I said something to add to his frustration as well. Let's just pray for him now."

Jason nodded. He hugged his mother and they silently prayed as they both let their tears fall.


	3. Chapter 3

**April 26, 1935**

Zeb lay on the couch in the waiting room with Esther. He woke up. He looked out the window and it was dark. He glanced at his watch. It read 12:17. It was the very early part of the morning.

Zeb sat up. He saw Olivia pacing the floor. He arose.

"Olivia, Honey, you've been up all night. Why don't you lay down?"

"I can't Zeb." Olivia quietly replied. "I can't stop thinking about John."

"Dr. Vance is doing the absolute best that he can do."

"How long have we been here Grandpa?"

"We left home around 7. That would have put us here close to 8 o'clock. Dr. Vance probably began surgery shortly before 9."

Olivia sat down. "Oh Grandpa!" she began to cry.

Zeb gave her a hug.

Dr. Vance came out. "Surgery is complete. John is doing very well."

Olivia smiled and hugged her father-in-law.

"I knew he was as strong as an ox, Olivia." Zeb grinned from ear to ear. He turned to Dr. Vance. "Thank you, Doctor."

Dr. Vance slipped away.

"I knew too, deep down." Olivia smiled. "It's just in the heat of the moment like this, you imagine the worst things."

"I know. I'm just so relieved that it's over."

"So am I." she paused. "Well, let's tell everyone!"

Zeb grinned.

"Esther, Esther, wake up!" Zeb said.

"Any word on John?"

"He's gonna be fine." Zeb smiled.

"Thank you God!" Esther said, hugging her husband.

"Wake up, boys." Olivia said gently.

John-Boy aroused.

"Wake up Jason." He gently tapped Jason's arm.

"Yeah John-Boy." Jason replied.

"Boys, your father came out of surgery and he is just fine!" Olivia beamed.

She hugged her boys.

She then placed her hands on her stomach. "Your daddy's gonna be just fine, Honey."

John-Boy smiled. Then he got serious. "Mama, you have to get some sleep. You've been up all night."

"I will. But I want to see your father first."

"Let me see if Dr. Vance will let all of us see him." Jason replied, getting up.

Dr. Vance and Jason came back in a minute.

"Y'all can come see him."

They all saw him. After coming out, Dr. Vance offered Olivia an exam room to lay down in.

"I'll take you up on that, Doctor."

He smiled and showed her the room.

"I'll be with John. Your family is gonna run some errands. They'll be back in a few minutes."

After doing a couple errands in town, Zeb brought the kids and Esther back to pick up Olivia.

"John can come home on Monay. I just want to keep him here this weekend to rest a little because I know he won't at home."

"You can say that again." Olivia said with a chuckle. "Thank you Dr. Vance."

"You're welcome. Have a safe trip home."

 **April 29, 1935**

On Monday, John came home, as good as new. John and Olivia sat upstairs in their room.

"It's great to be home." John smiled. "The kids look amazing."

"They missed you so much. I did too."

"I hope you didn't worry too much."

"I found myself thinking about the worst things. I couldn't help but think that you might not live to see our baby born." Olivia began to get choked up. "That John-Boy would have to become his younger siblings' father figure. How much Elizabeth would miss her daddy."

"I'm sorry I frightened you Olivia. I'm sorry I frightened Pa, Ma, and the children."

"It's not your fault." She whispered. "I'm just glad this is over."

Later that night, the children apologized to their father. He apologized to them for overreacting.

"Jenny will come see you tomorrow." John-Boy told his father. "She was with her mother in West Virginia. She felt terribly that she wasn't here to help."

"It's not her fault." John smiled. "Tell her I'll be happy to see her tomorrow."

"Well, from now on, we children will be on our best behavior. You don't need the stress of us being unruly."

John smiled. "What would life be without a little unruliness from time to time?"

John-Boy chuckled and hugged his father.

 _That Spring taught us to be more polite and kind. We realized that sometimes little things can make a bad situation terrible. But more than anything, we learned about love and the sacrifices that it makes. We were affirmed of how much our mother and father loved us and how blessed we truly were._


End file.
